Afghanistan Policy Not Working, There and Here

As today marks the eighth anniversary of the tragic September 11th attacks, it is also a reminder of the calamitous road of foreign policy that the Bush administration took us down shortly after. The Iraq War was of course an outright disaster, but Obama’s recent troop escalation into Afghanistan should worry progressives equally.

American strategy after nearly eight years in Afghanistan has achieved little. According to U.S. Commander of Afghanistan, Stanley McChrystal, “conditions on the ground are serious” while the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen warned, “the situation has deteriorated.” Meanwhile, troops are greeted to a resurgent Taliban in all parts of Afghanistan. This helps explain why the past August was the deadliest month for troops since the war began over seven years ago.

Yet, with a big troop surge in Afghanistan already announced by Obama earlier this year, hints of an even greater troop increase may be on the way. This should prompt progressives to ask the larger question, what is victory for the U.S.?

American leadership has yet to put forward an exit strategy for our troops. In fact, last month Ambassador Richard Holbrooke quipped that success in Afghanistan can be defined as, “we’ll know it when we see it.” More troubling for U.S. strategy, Bruce Riedel, former advisor on Afghanistan to President Obama, puts bluntly that even with sufficient troop numbers, “Anyone who thinks that in 12 to 18 months we’re going to be anywhere near victory is living in a fantasyland.”

A military solution then is not the answer. What Afghans truly desire is stability and development. Ravaged by war for decades, Afghans are unfortunately all too familiar with world powers turning their soil into a battlefield. The key is for an American presence in Afghanistan to act not as a military occupying force, but rather as a partner ( with the international community) for reconstruction and economic development. Studies support this approach, such as the RAND Corporation’s conclusion that

“the United States would be more effective and less dependent on large-scale use of military power to counter insurgency by correcting major deficiencies: civil competence and capacity to build effective and legitimate local government...[and] capabilities to organize, train, equip, and advise local military and police forces.”

Ironically, according to military experts, the Taliban is doing just this. Despite repressive practices, they have gained credibility by providing services to the people. In fact, Adm. Mullen explained how the “Taliban is getting pretty effective at [governance]. They’ve set up functional courts in some locations, assess and collect taxes, and even allow people to file formal complaints against local Talib leaders.”

And shifting back home, progressives know past strategy should no longer live in the present, that our priorities have been misplaced for too long. Focus abroad the past eight years has jeopardized our ability to address threats here at home. Due to the War in Iraq, the National Guard was unable to respond more effectively during Hurricane Katrina. While needed investments such as fixing our crumbling infrastructure are placed on the backburner, with over $1 trillion spent for the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan instead.

It is clear then that the progressive movement will have to push harder and demand an exit strategy for Afghanistan from the Obama administration and Congress. For the sake of American troops, our security and the Afghan people, it is time for change. Legislation demanding an exit strategy is already in Congress –pressure your representative to support it!

See Brave New Films, “Rethink Afghanistan”

Views expressed on this page are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Campaign for America's Future or Institute for America's Future